I Was a Fool
by Umbra the Hedgehog
Summary: There's more to Trina Vega than everyone realizes. More than anyone has ever cared to find out. But now, someone's about to see her real face.
1. Blind date

Hello, everyone! This is Umbra the Hedgehog signing in! After watching this show for a while, as well as reading a great story in this very archive, I've decided to give this section of the site a shot. With any luck, I'll manage to avoid botching it. I hope all of you will have fun reading this!

Description: There's more to Trina Vega than everyone realizes. More than anyone has ever cared to find out. But now, someone's about to see her real face.

**NOTE: **

-I do not own anything presented in this story other than my own OCs.

-Credit to guy-sports for a joke used in this chapter.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>I Was a Fool<span>_**

Chapter 1: Blind date.

Los Angeles, California.

The setting: a nice-looking house located near James Street. The Vega residence. Home to David Vega, a dedicated and reliable cop, his wife Holly, and their two daughters, Tori and Trina. Many would like to point it out as your everyday quiet house.

But that would be a lie.

Both Tori and Trina are students at Hollywood Arts, a school well known for educating young people and helping them achieve their goal of becoming professional performers... as well as taking in some rather peculiar people.

So, most every friendly visit or conversation ends up becoming a crazy and loud adventure inside this home.

"_No way! Uh-uh, absolutely not! Forget it, Tori!_"

And this is one of those days.

* * *

><p>Both girls were standing in front of the TV, caught in the middle of an argument.<p>

"If you really think I'm doing it, sister, then think again!" Trina couldn't believe what her younger sister was asking her to do.

"Come on, Trina!" And Tori just wouldn't budge. "It's not like I'm asking you to shave your head. It's just a small favor."

Trina reminded her of something. "A small favor? Last time you said that, you fixed me up with a unibrowed, lobster-sucking loser-"

Before she could finish that, her cell phone started ringing. Once she checked the number, she continued.

"-who just won't stop calling me!" She shoved it in front of Tori's face.

Gently pushing Trina's arm away, Tori decided to try something different.

"You're right. That was my fault."

"No kidding!"

"So, think of it as..." She stopped to think for a moment. "...a way to make us even."

Upon hearing this, Trina's unwillingness began to subside, though she still kept her guard up. "How so, Tori?"

But Tori could see through that, and tried to exploit this opening.

"I've already met him, OK?" She began to explain. "He's a nice guy, totally not geeky, and totally available."

With that, Trina started to think. Tori caught sight of it, a sign that her new tactics were working, and decided to add a little more weight.

"Besides, look at it like this: you're having a date with a hot guy, which I'm totally gonna miss because of school work."

It didn't work as well as she thought.

"I'd like to remind you that the last time I tried to do that, you tried to whack me with Dad's camera."

Tori quickly came up with a save. "Yeah, but that was your fault."

Although Trina tried to reply to that, she just couldn't do it. Mostly because Tori was right.

"OK, fine. I'll go." She decided to stop the discussion right there, realizing that her sister just wouldn't give up. "But you better make it worthwhile!"

Having finally won, Tori couldn't help but hug her older sister. "Alright! Thanks, Trina!"

Trina couldn't find a way to reply. She was just going over one thought.

"_I just know I'm gonna regret this..._"

* * *

><p><em>About an hour later...<em>

Trina was sitting in a bench, all by herself, right in front of a restaurant. Its name... Olive Grove.

Usually a great place to stop and have a bite or a date, it wasn't exactly Trina's favorite name. It brought back some unpleasant memories of a blind date she had with a guy named Kevin Richards.

"Of all the restaurants in L.A., it just had to be this one." She said to herself, still waiting for Tori's date to arrive.

As she waited, she was still trying to figure out what convinced her to agree with Tori's idea.

She didn't get to think it over for long, though, as she saw someone walking towards her. It was a regular-looking guy, who looked like he was her age. He was wearing a jacket, some jeans, and a red shirt. His hair was also standing up a little.

"Excuse me!"

Since no one else seemed to be around, Trina could only assume he was talking to her.

He came to a stop in front of her. "Hey, uh..."

"Yeah?" She replied, her voice full of boredom.

"I'm looking for, uh..." He looked at his cell phone. "...Tori Vega. You know who or where she is?"

Reacting upon the sound of her sister's name, Trina began to answer. "She's my sister. She sent me here to cover for her."

"Cover?"

"Yeah, she's got some project to work on with this guy called Andrew Harris. She asked to come in her place so her date wouldn't feel dumped."

"I see. Well, that's cool." He put away his phone. "Seems like I'm done here."

Suddenly, Trina's curiosity took over. "Hey, are you the guy that Tori was gonna see here?"

"Not really, no." He scratched the back of his head. "That would be my cousin, Jeff. Turns out, he sent me here to give your sister the same message."

"So, he's not coming?"

"Nope, sorry."

"Well, that's just great!" Disappointed, Trina couldn't help but whine. "My parents are at work, and my sister's away from home. What am I supposed to do in the meantime?"

Surprisingly, he began to voice a few complaints too, although not as loud. "Tell me about it. My sister's out on a date, my cousins are busy, and my parents are having a huge baseball fan reunion." As he said this, he took a seat next to Trina. "This is gonna be such a bore!"

Following this, they both fell silent.

"Hmm, I wonder..." Not for too long, though. Trina had suddenly come up with an idea.

He turned to face her. "You still talking to me?"

"Yeah. Listen..." As she began, she stood up. "...both Tori and Jim-"

"Jeff." He corrected her.

"Right." She kept on talking. "-were going to see each other here. Since they're busy, and we're bored, how about we have a date instead?"

He was rather surprised at this plan, but still remained calm. "You and me, huh?"

"Sure, why not? I mean, I'm totally hot, and you seem really bummed. Maybe you just need a little me-magic to make your day." She put her hands on her hips. "What do you say? Feel like hanging out with me?"

Although she seemed really confident while saying this, she was thinking something rather different.

"_Please say yes. I don't want to spend this afternoon alone like this, and you're the only one who doesn't seem turned off by me. Please be the one. Please... _"

Yes, the great Trina Vega, known for constantly bragging about her stellar performing abilities and constantly belittling others, was worried she'd scare this guy away like she's done with so many others.

Needless to say, she was rather surprised when he gave his answer.

"OK, I'll take it." He let out, with a nice smile on his face.

Hearing this, Trina quickly switched from shocked to happy. "Good choice, little man."

"Yeah, I know." He wasn't at all fazed by this bit of self-praise from her.

After that, he began to introduce himself.

"So, what's your name?" Funny enough, so did Trina. At the exact same time.

He tried again. "Well, I'm-" It happened again.

"Hey, that's just freaky." And once again, they both let it out in unison.

They both let out a few laughs.

And then he was the next to speak. "You know what? You go first." He let out, between chuckles.

"OK." As they both stopped laughing, she fixed her shirt and cleared her throat. "I'm Trina Vega. What's your name?"

He took a breath. "...Dodger Williams."

After stating his name, he closed his eyes, as if preparing for something.

About 5 seconds later, he opened one of them, surprised. He expected some giggles, loud laughter, or at least a snicker. But all that his eye met was the sight of Trina, who seemed confused.

"What are you doing?"

Dodger opened his other eye. "I don't know. I was expecting you to laugh like crazy at that."

"Should I?"

"Everyone else I've ever met has." He began a short reenactment. "It's always: hey, what's your name, I'm Dodger, haha, and then zip." He put his hands inside his pockets. "I've only had about two or three real friends 'cause everyone else just finds it laughable."

Trina replied pretty easily. "I don't get it."

"Really?"

"It's not even that funny." She followed this with a question. "That a nickname or something?"

"Nah, it's what happens when your folks watch baseball religiously."

"Wow, that's, uh..."

"Yeah, I know." Dodger couldn't help but shrug. "But hey, it could have been worse. They could have gone with 'Padre' or 'Marlin'. That'd just be insane."

Out of the blue, Trina was smiling. "Besides, Dodger has kind of a nice ring to it."

"You know something? It kinda does." Dodger started smiling as well. "But I still wonder why I didn't get an ordinary name, like my sister."

"What'd she get?"

"Not sure why, but they chose to call her Miranda." He scratched the back of his head. "She likes going by just Mira, but you get the idea."

"Yeah, I think I get it." After saying this, Trina remembered something. "Hey, shouldn't we go inside?"

"Oh, yeah. Right, I totally forgot."

As they went to the entrance, Dodger opened the door.

"After you, Trina."

Seeing this, Trina was surprised. Nobody was this nice to her, except maybe her parents and sister. However, her parents loved her no matter what, and even Tori was annoyed by her antics every now and then, so this was still rare.

"Thanks." But she didn't care. She liked how it felt.

* * *

><p><em>A few minutes later...<em>

Trina and Dodger were sitting on a table, both of them laughing a lot.

"OK, here's the last one." Dodger made a pause so he could say this.

Trina wiped some tears off her eyes. "Go ahead."

And so, he started.

"Brenda and Terry are going out for the evening. The last thing they do is put their cat out. The taxi arrives, and as the couple walk out of the house, the cat scoots back in."

He made a pause, both to take a breather and to make sure Trina was getting it.

"OK..." Lucky for him, she was.

"Terry returns inside to chase it out. Brenda, not wanting it known that the house would be empty, explains to the taxi driver, 'My husband is just going upstairs to say goodbye to my mother.'"

"Yeah..." Trina was shaking a little as she waited for the punchline.

"Several minutes later, an exhausted Terry arrives and climbs back into the taxi saying, 'Sorry I took so long, the stupid idiot was hiding under the bed and I had to poke her with a coat hanger several times before I could get her to come out!'"

With this, Dodger just couldn't hold his laughter in, and let it all out again. Trina soon followed.

"Oh, man." As they both stopped to catch their breath, Trina gave him a compliment. "You've got some great jokes."

"Thanks, Trina. I was actually worried you'd find them lame."

"Oh, come on." She reassured him. "They were hilarious."

Dodger scratched the back of his head again, chuckling a little.

"So, you said you go to Hollywood Arts." Trina remembered something he shared with her before the jokes. "How come I never noticed you before?"

"Well, for one, we're in different groups." He began to answer. "Also, I've kept a low profile since day one. It's like I don't exist at Hollywood Arts."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "Self-esteem issues."

"Oh..." She replied, knowing the feeling.

"But then I started seeing this headshrinker, and after a while, I ended up here. And you know what?" He started smiling again. "This is a great start."

"That's good to know." Trina quickly changed the subject. "So, what's your talent, Dodger?"

"I'm a dancer."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I've always had a thing for Jig Jig Jitterbug, despite the weird name. Mira even said I was like a second John Travolta. And that's cool, since the guy's one of my favorite actors ever." After briefly trailing off, Dodger continued. "Anyway, then I figured I'd take it a step further. That's when I started breakdancing."

"Sounds cool."

"Yeah, it's a lot of fun." He added something else. "I've also got a bit of voice acting with me."

"Is that so?"

"Hey, when your parents watch baseball all day long, you gotta have a pasttime, Trina."

Trina decided to ask something related to his second skill. "Do you sing?"

"Nah, it's not really my thing. The last time I tried it, I ended up with a salad bowl for a hat." He cleared his throat. "Pretty embarrassing."

Trina quickly came up with an answer. "Not as much as the time I found out I sleep sweat. It was totally messy."

"Well, someone poured a can of Mountain Fizz down my pants."

"I had a flier stuffed down my shirt."

"My folks wear baseball caps when they go to sleep."

"My sister got an actress shot through the hand."

"I once found a tarantula in my jacket."

"I saw my grandmother naked."

"I was born in a baseball stadium."

"I got in a fight with Perez Hilton once."

Once she said this, Dodger's eyes widened. "Wait, whoa, whoa... you're the girl from that 'Hilton Plane Brawl' video?"

"Someone recorded that?" Trina was totally shocked. "Why would anyone upload it?"

"Of course they would! It's not every day that you see a beautiful girl dukin' it out with a grade A jerk." Dodger's excitement was clearly visible. "And makin' an even bigger fool outta Perez Hilton... you and Craig Mazin are my heroes!"

"Who?"

"A parody guy. He wrote and directed _Superhero Movie_, and he wrote some other stuff."

"Oh, yeah. I remember that movie." She remembered having watched it with her 'friend' Molly. "Drake Bell wearing green, right?"

"Yep, that's the one."

Trina decided to keep the conversation going. "So, what's next?"

"I got nothing." Out of nowhere, Dodger took her hands. "Trina, you got to beat up on Perez Hilton. How the fuzz am I supposed to top that?"

Upon hearing this, she was confused. "Is that a saying? Never heard it before."

"Nah, it's just something my mom made up. She's used it before I was even born, and it just kinda stuck."

"Oh, OK." She then noticed something else. "Uh, Dodger?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I, you know..." She tried to be as gentle as possible. "...have my hands back?"

He suddenly remembered. "Oh, right." He chuckled nervously as he let go of Trina's hands. "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry."

And so, as they waited for their orders to arrive, the conversation continued.

* * *

><p><em>About an hour later...<em>

After they finished, the two exited the place. Once again, Trina came out first.

"That was some good cooking!" She seemed rather happy.

Dodger came out next. "You can say that again. Mira was right about those breadsticks."

"Oh, yeah." She punched his shoulder. "They were the best part."

They both laughed for a while, until Dodger suddenly posed a question.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

Trina replied, pretty eagerly. "Sure, go ahead."

"When you said we should have a date, you seemed really confident and acted like a bit of a showoff. You know, like the kind of person nobody likes." Dodger cleared his throat. "No offense."

"None taken."

Relieved, he continued. "But then, we started talking and eating and all that, and you seemed so much nicer. You were all sweet and cool and everything. What was up with that?"

Suddenly, Trina lowered her head, trying to avert her gaze from his face. She didn't seem so happy anymore, either.

"Can I trust you with a secret?"

"Well, we've gotten this far. We might as well give it a shot."

"You see..." She swallowed. "...the girl you met before we went in... wasn't really me."

Of course, Dodger was confused. "What do you mean?"

"I acted like a diva 'cause... because I was afraid you wouldn't like me." She still kept her head down. "That's just the way I've dealt with all the abuse that's always going on. Just acting like it doesn't exist, like I'm the greatest star in the world."

He was surprised by this. So much, in fact, that he couldn't find a proper reply.

"But I know the truth." She continued. "No one outside of my house likes me. They all just think I'm annoying."

"Wow... I, uh... didn't expect that." Dodger couldn't think of something better.

"Until now." She finally raised her head. "I had so much fun with you. You're the first person that's actually made me feel like I'm worth something."

He was about to say something, but before he could speak, she said one more thing.

"But don't tell anyone, OK? Especially Tori."

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." He put his hand on her shoulder. "I know why you're asking that. I've been there." He gave her a warm smile. "But you know what? I think I prefer the real, nice, fun-loving Trina over the snobby, self-absorbed Ms. Vega."

All of a sudden, something happened. Something neither of them could have expected.

Trina found herself hugging Dodger, as affectionately as Tori usually did with her.

"Thanks for a great time, Dodger." She was smiling. "Thanks for listening, and, you know...everything."

Although he was taken by surprise, he soon returned it. "Sure, right back at you."

She soon let go of him. "Well, I guess I should be going now. It's getting kinda late."

"Yeah, me too."

She began to walk away, but she stopped when she heard him say something else.

"See you around..." She turned to him. "...Trina-Rina."

Of course, she was surprised by this. But then, she surprised him even more when she walked up to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

He didn't get to reply to that, since she began to walk away almost immediately. He could only stand there, totally shocked.

Trina, on the other hand, seemed really happy. Even her thoughts had changed.

"_Well, he's not Ashton Kutcher, but..._" She had a small laugh. "_...I think I like him._"

* * *

><p>Just like with my second story, this is my first shot at writing a fic about these guys, so, once again, don't hesitate to tell me if I got something wrong. I just thought I'd write something about my favorite character from the show, since she's so underused.<p>

I might make another chapter, but only if this one isn't a massive screw-up.

This is Umbra the Hedgehog signing off.


	2. The following day

Hello, everyone! This is Umbra the Hedgehog signing back in! Well, seems like it worked. I managed to not make this a total mess. I guess that means it guarantees a few more updates. Thanks to the people who gave me their feedback. To all of you, and to those who didn't but still care, here goes some more!

**NOTE: **

-I do not own anything presented in this story other than my own OCs.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>I Was a Fool<span>_**

Chapter 2: The following day.

Hollywood Arts High School. The place is full of people as always.

A group of people was walking down the stairs. Their current class was done, and break time had finally arrived.

While it couldn't be told at first glance, Trina was among the group.

"Come on, let me through! I can't breathe in here!" But she'd rather not be.

After quite a lot of pushing and yelling, she finally managed to break away from the group, coming out from the front. Immediately, she began to run away from them.

"Why are you all huddled up like that?" Once she finally stopped, she tried to catch her breath. "It's not normal!"

As she composed herself, she caught sight of Tori. She was with the others, in front of the lockers as they usually did. Of course, her first reaction was to go and join them.

But she suddenly stopped when she heard a voice coming from a nearby room.

"_This is horrible! We're canceled __**and**__ fake! Just like my child support checks._" This was soon followed by a rimshot.

As she approached the door, some laughs were heard from the inside.

"_Wow. It __**is**__ a lot better when you add the rimshot!_" Hearing this, Trina recognized the one who was talking. "_It's pretty cool to meet someone who's actually a legit drummer._"

"_Same goes for you, man. When I make my next video for TheSlap, I'm calling you to do voices! You're like a whole cast in one guy!_" But not the other one.

She heard some footsteps closing in, so she decided to step away from the door, trying to act natural. By the time the door opened, she was on the opposite side.

And there he was.

Dodger came out of the room, right next to another guy she didn't recognize. They were apparently getting along rather well.

"Thanks, man. And you'll help me with my profile video, right?"

"Sure." The other one lifted his arm, with his wrist in front of his face. "You can count on me!"

Dodger lifted his arm in the same way. "Awesome!"

They bumped their wrists, then slapped their hands, and ended with a fist bump.

"Well, I gotta get goin'." He turned around and began to walk away. "Catch ya around, Dodger!"

"You got it, Lucas!"

Finally, after this conversation had ended, Trina decided to be the next one.

"Hey, Dodger!"

He turned to the source of the call, and he saw her there.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite girl!" Of course, he was happy about it. "Trina Vega. How are you?"

Instead of replying, Trina just hugged him again. "Good to see you again!"

While he was surprised by this, he didn't try to stop her.

"A little generous with the hugs, aren't we?" But he did comment on it.

She let go of him. "Yeah, sorry. It's just that I don't really get a lot of them, y'know?"

"Hey, don't be sorry, Trina. Hugs are cool." This made her smile again. "So, going somewhere?"

She suddenly remembered. "Oh, yeah. I was heading over there."

She pointed at Tori's group of friends, and he turned to them as well.

"Hmm..." He started to think.

And she noticed. "What's up, Dodger?"

"I think I remember them from a play. Let's see..." After taking a good look at one of them, he turned to Trina. "That's Tori."

"Yeah, that's my sister."

"And there's also, uh..." He pointed at each of them as he named them. "...André Harris, Cat Valentine, Beck Oliver, Jade West, and..." He suddenly stopped.

"What?"

"Isn't that Andy Samberg from Saturday Night Live?"

"No, no." Trina tried to keep her laughter inside. "He only looks a lot like him."

"Then it must be Robbie Shapiro." Once he had a better look, he tilted his head in confusion. "And he's carrying a puppet."

She just patted his back. "Yeah, he says it's called Rex. He also thinks it's real."

"I'd say it's weird..." He crossed his arms. "...but none of us are exactly normal. Ain't that right, Trina?"

"Word on that, Dodge." She took a few steps towards them, and then she turned to him again. "Come on, let's go!"

Of course, he was a little nervous. "Wait, what? You sure about that?"

"Oh, come on. It's not like they bite or anything."

And so, the two approached the group, and Trina gave them her usual greeting.

"Hey, Tori! Hey, Tori's friends!"

As they joined the group, nobody really said anything.

"Hi, Trina!" Except for Cat, of course. "Who's your friend?"

She didn't waste any time. "This here's Dodger. I met him last night."

"Hi, you guys." He gave them a small wave. "Nice to meet you."

Of course, Tori was the first one to answer. "Hey, Dodger. I'm Tori."

"I'm André. Nice to meet you." The two shook hands.

Next up was Cat, as expected from her. "Hi. I'm Cat."

"I'm Beck, and this here's my girlfriend Jade."

"I'm Robbie, and this is..." He stopped, since Rex didn't seem to be focused, and could be heard snickering loudly.

Dodger was confused. "What? Did I say something funny?"

"That really what you're called?" Rex finally stopped snickering.

"...Yeah?"

"For real?"

"From the day I was born, until the day I die. Why?"

After that, Rex finally started laughing.

Annoyed, Dodger just rolled his eyes and turned to Trina.

"See? That's what I meant."

Still laughing, the puppet continued. "What the heck kinda name is that? I mean, come on!"

"Pretty big words for a midget with a hand stuck up his butt."

Rex's jaw dropped in shock, while Robbie's eyes just widened.

While many people usually answer to the puppet's insults with physical violence or something similar, this was the first time someone actually took a shot at dishing insults back.

"Oh, yeah? Well-"

He didn't even get ready to reply when Dodger cut him off. "Oh, and before you come up with a retort, Rex, please explain something. How did you end up with the name my uncle Jack picked for his _dog_?"

Surprising everyone, the puppet didn't even try to answer.

Feeling satisfied, Dodger turned his attention back to the others. After getting a good look at Tori, he suddenly turned thoughtful.

"What's up?" And she quickly noticed.

"You know, you remind me of someone I saw on TV." Dodger crossed his arms, trying to think. "A CFC champion who also showed up on iCarly, I think. What was her name?"

Upon hearing the description, Tori immediately knew what he was talking about. "Shelby Marx?"

"Yeah, that's the one. You look kinda like her." He let his arms drop again.

"I get that a lot, y'know?" Now, it was Tori who remembered an experience. "There was this one time when we got a special discount at the movies. The woman at the ticket booth really thought I was her, and the guys just went with it."

"Heh, cool." He started to check his right pocket. "Well, I'm gonna go get a can of Wahoo Punch. You guys want any?"

"Nah, I'm OK. Thanks." Tori and André, unexpectedly, gave the same answer at the same time. Quickly noticing this, they turned to each other, and then back to everyone else, weirded out.

"I already had some Alaskan Punch, so I gotta say no, but thank you!" Cat was the next one, as cheery and peppy as always.

Then came Robbie. "I'm a little short. Maybe next time."

"A little too much!" Rex butted in, making fun of Robbie as he always does.

Beck decided to go next. "No, thanks. I just don't really feel like it right now."

Jade said nothing; she just drank some of her Jet Brew coffee.

"Alright then. Whatever you say, guys."

He was about to head towards the vending machine, but then he remembered something.

He turned to Trina. "How about you?"

"I'm in the mood for some Wahoo." She handed him a 1-dollar bill. "Can you get one for me?"

He took it from her. "Sure thing, Trina."

He began to walk away, and the others suddenly turned their attention to Trina.

"Alright, what's the deal?" Tori was the first one to speak.

Trina didn't get it. "What do you mean?"

"What exactly did you do for him?" Jade was the next one, although she sounded rather bored. "Or maybe you want him to do something for you?"

Before she could answer, they suddenly heard some yelling.

"No, no, no!"

They all turned to where it came from, only to see Dodger hitting the vending machine, frustrated.

Trina walked up to him, while the others just watched. "What's wrong, Dodger?"

"The vending machine just ate the bills!" They both walked back towards the group. "I'm really sorry, Trina. Seems like I lost your money."

"Hey, don't worry about it." She put a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down. "It's just one buck. No big deal."

"It's just, well..."

He started scratching the back of his head.

"I've never been mugged by a vending machine before, y'know?"

"Hey, there's a first time for everything." She punched his shoulder, the same way she did the last time. "We'll buy a Wahoo some other time."

"OK then, Trina."

Suddenly, they heard the vending machine rumbling, and they turned to where it was located.

All of a sudden, it shot out a can, which hit Dodger right on the forehead.

"Dodger!" Trina was worried. "You OK?"

"Hey, look! A stag beetle!" He pointed at one of the lockers.

Everyone turned to where Dodger was pointing, but Trina was the only one who replied.

"But there's nothing there."

He lowered his hand. "Cool! Two things: a beetle and a nothing!"

With that, he fell to the ground, knocked out.

Everyone else seemed freaked out, except for Jade.

"Wow..." Instead, she let out a single word, with an indifferent look on her face.

Cat crouched down, poking Dodger with her right index finger. "Is he alive?"

"I'll check." Jade replied, still uncaring.

She lifted his head.

"Are you alive?"

He opened his eyes. "Lookie here, ma! Ah caught me a lightnin' bug!" He loudly let out, in a heavy Texan accent.

"Yeah, he's alive." Jade carelessly let his head drop back down.

Pretty much ignoring the others, Trina got down next to him. "I better get him some help."

"Need a hand?" Tori made her sister an offer.

"Don't worry, I got it." She picked him up from the arms. "I'm just gonna go look for Lane."

She slowly began to walk away, but then she suddenly stopped.

"Oh, before I forget..." After gently letting Dodger down, she walked up to Robbie. "Just to even the score..."

She quickly took Rex's right arm, ripped it off and threw it away. This obviously resulted in the puppet screaming, and it also managed to shock the others.

"Wow." However, Jade didn't exactly convey it properly, instead keeping an indifferent look on her face.

After that, she ripped his other arm off, but this one was shoved into his gaping mouth as he screamed.

Finally satisfied, Trina began to drag Dodger away again.

As she did, she didn't hear Rex spitting his arm out. "D'you have any idea how many surgeons I had to see last time?"

"I had to go talk to a surgeon once. He said my brother needed a new liver. Not sure why..." Out of nowhere, Cat broke in.

Giving her strange looks, the others decided to just ignore this, instead going back to what they were doing before Trina showed up.

At least, they would have, if they hadn't noticed that Tori seemed rather... puzzled.

"Well, that's something you don't see every day."

"Yeah." Cat suddenly decided to reply. "I mean, how often has the vending machine failed? And when has it ever hit you in the head?"

"Not that, Cat." Tori turned her attention from just Cat to the whole group. "Did any of you guys notice anything weird going on with Trina?"

"You mean weirder than usual?" As always, Jade took the chance to slight Trina.

Tori let out a loud sigh, exasperated. "Yes, Jade. Weirder than usual."

"Yeah...no." She replied, with her usual nonchalance.

Tori continued, ignoring Jade's comment. "I'm serious, guys. Did you see how she acted around this Dodger guy?"

"What do you mean, Tori?" Beck asked his question, calm but confused.

"OK, look..." Tori began to explain. "Before she got into Hollywood Arts, we went to several schools."

As she did, everyone was paying attention. Well, all except for Jade.

"In every school we ended up in, Trina's always been the same. Just like you all know her. She's never been one to hang out with the new people. Not unless there was something in it for her."

"Yeah. If I hadn't been the one to play her song, she probably wouldn't even know I exist." André supported her claims. "And she can't even get my name right."

After that, Tori kept going. "And she's always bragging to me about all the guys she has dated. Now this guy shows up, and she didn't tell me anything!"

The others just looked at her, seemingly somewhat baffled.

"Something's up with my sister."

Jade took a sip of her coffee. "That's nothing new!"

"OK, that's a time out." Deciding that was enough of his girlfriend's snark, Beck stepped in.

"But we're not even-"

"**Go sit on the steps!**" She soon did so.

Beck hardly ever loses his cool. But when he did, Jade just couldn't argue with him.

"So, you were saying?"

Getting the message right away, Tori continued. "He seems like a nice enough guy, but not very influential or anything like that. I don't think Trina's in it for any kind of prize."

"If she's not looking for anything from him, what _is_ she looking for?" Robbie asked the obvious question.

"Guys..." Tori took a look around her. "...I think Trina's in love."

As he is one to do, Rex broke in. "Yeah, with her mirror!"

"I'm gonna keep an eye on her. I'll see you guys later." Following this, she began to walk away, following her sister.

André soon followed. "I'll go with you."

Beck just went over to the steps, ready to talk to Jade again.

Cat was looking at them, when suddenly, she heard another metal bump. This time, it was right next to her.

When she turned to it, she noticed there was a can of Wahoo Punch behind Robbie.

"Uh-oh." She moved her hand in front of his face. "Robbie? Are you OK?"

"I flip tooth umbrella, humpty pumpkin!" Obviously, he wasn't.

After this short bout of randomness, he fell to the ground on his face. Cat seemed worried.

But Rex couldn't care any less. "Get up, man! I gotta go to the bathroom!"

_A few minutes later..._

Inside the stage fighting room, the door suddenly opened. Trina slowly entered the room, still dragging Dodger from the arms.

With some work, she managed to let him down on the stage.

"OK, this should do it. Now, I gotta go find Lane." She turned to the door, ready to make an exit.

Before she could, however, she heard something behind her.

"I need help...and a pony."

Trina turned around, recognizing her friend's voice. However, he was still lying down on his back, merely moving his head a little.

Still, this was enough for her, and she ran up to where he was.

"Dodger? You there?" She asked him, as she kneeled down right next to him.

He wasn't quite awake yet, but he was mumbling something. "Guitar cloud spaghetti ring wrench..."

"Come on, wake up." She shook his shoulder.

This seemed to be enough, as he finally started to get up. Groaning a little, he opened his eyes and saw Trina next to him.

"Hey, Trina." He put his hand where his head was hurting. "Who punched me?"

She replied, gently resting her arm on his shoulder. "The vending machine shot a can at you."

"Well, that's the worst 2 bucks I've ever spent." He said this with a grin, rubbing his head where the can had hit him.

Trina laughed a little, before speaking again. "So, who's that guy you were talking to a while ago?"

"Oh, him?" He began to answer. "He's called Lucas. I met him in my Improv class."

"How'd it happen?"

"He said something during his turn that reminded me of a cartoon I've been watching recently. I asked him if he had seen it, and we suddenly started a conversation about it."

Trina smiled. "Sounds nice."

"Yeah, it was. Turns out, we share quite a few interests. And then he told me he has a band. He also said he'd try to get them to help me with a new profile video, and he asked me to help him with a video he's doing. He said he needed voice actors."

"Oh, yeah. I heard you doing a high-pitched kiddy voice. You're really good!"

"Thanks."

After that, Trina suddenly started to laugh a little.

"What's up?" Of course, it caught his attention.

"You owe me a Wahoo, Dodger."

Hearing this, he laughed a little as well. "And you owe me a band-aid, Trina."

The two just kept going, each of them enjoying the welcoming atmosphere that the other created.

Unknown to them, there was someone behind the door. They were being watched.

"_See what I mean?_"

"_I can't believe it._"

It was Tori. And André was with her.

* * *

><p>OK, here it is. Boy, did this take a long while! But that's what happens when you try to make sure everything works fine... like a hundred friggin' times! I probably overdid it. I just hope it's worth it for those who want to keep reading. If it is, then you're welcome!<p>

Tori's theory has been confirmed to both her and André. What will they do now that they know what's going on with Trina?

This is Umbra the Hedgehog signing off.


End file.
